FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM & MASS Communications

 

Department of Advertising and Public Relations

Summer 2001

 

MMC 4945: Advertising and Public Relations Internship

 

 

 

Professor Patricia B. Rose, Internship Coordinator

Office: ACII-326

Hours: By appointment

Phone and voice mail: (305) 919-5777

Email:   rosep@fiu.edu

Fax:   (305) 919-5215

 

Course Description: On-the-job learning in activity at selected and approved organizations, including newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, agencies, companies and non-profit organizations.

 

Prerequisite: 3.0 GPA in SJMC courses and consent of advisor.

 

For Advertising Majors:

 

ADV 3000 Principles of Advertising

ADV 3200 Creative Concepts

MMC 3104 Writing Strategies

MMC 3602 Mass Media and Society

At least one other SJMC course

 

For Public Relations Majors:

 

PUR 3000 Principles of Public Relations

PUR 4100 Writing for Public Relations

MMC 3104 Writing Strategies

MMC 3602 Mass Media and Society

At least one other SJMC course

 

Note to International Students: All international students must seek prior approval from the

Office of international Student and Scholar Services to participate in an internship. Failing to do so can affect your visa status.

 

Course Objectives: Internships provide the student with a method for further academic growth. They are intended to give the student an opportunity to gain work experience in the fields of

advertising and public relations or other such related areas while still receiving academic credit. internships are one means for the student to get on-the job experience and network for future

employment.

 

Guidelines: All internships must be registered for the semester in which you are actually doing the internship, although some experiences may start a bit before the term and end a bit after. To receive three credits you must complete a total of 300 hours. You set your schedule with your internship host, usually 20 hours per week for 15 weeks. lnternships may not be done where you are currently employed, unless you will be involved in a completely new experience from your regular job during the entire 300 hours of the internship. Get the permission of the Internship Coordinator and the Department Chair first.

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Internship Contract: The Internship Contract must be completed and signed by the host supervisor, your Advisor and the Department Chair. At that time, the Internship Coordinator for that semester will write an override card so you can register.

 

Internship Advisor vs. Internship Coordinator: Professor Rose is the Internship Coordinator for Spring 2001. However, your academic advisor should also receive copies of your weekly reports. (S)he will also assist in grading your Final Internship Report and your Work Samples Portfolio. Thus, s(he) is interested in and concerned about your internship progress. Please contact him/her in person, by telephone, or via e-mail on a regular basis.

 

Weekly Progress Reports: You must submit Weekly Internship Progress Reports to the Internship Coordinator beginning the first week of the internship. Keep a journal; tell us what you did and what you learned. More importantly, tell us how you feel about the internship. Both positive and negative feedback should be included. A page or two is fine. The purpose of the reports is to give us an opportunity to read about your activities and be alerted to any problems. They also give you a summary of each week, which you can then incorporate into the Final Internship Report. You will not be given a letter grade, but I will record which reports you turn in. If I gain any insights from them regarding potential problems, I will email you. Thus, please give me an email contact.

 

Email your weekly reports to me - but make sure they are in Word. if I can't open the email, I will tell you I did not receive it. Even if you fall behind  I will not accept any report that is over two weeks late. This means that your internship report for the first week of the semester is due NOW.  It also means that a report due for the week of May 7-11 will not be accepted after May 28th. Thus, get in the habit of writing a report at the same time every week and getting it to your advisor and me as soon as possible.

 

Regular Meetings: We will meet as a group twice during the semester, one about six weeks into the semester and one near the end of the semester. The first meeting will be held in my office on Wednesday, May16th at 12:30. The meeting will only last about 20 minutes. If you cannot make the meeting notify me in advance so I can set up an alternative meeting time. The specifics of the final meeting will be discussed then. Your attendance at these meetings will be recorded as part of your grade.

 

Final Internship Report and Work Samples Portfolio: Your Final internship Report and your Work Samples Portfolio are due at the end of the semester, Monday, August 13. The Final Report should be 3 to 4 pages and summarize your experiences and your feelings about what you've learned. Give the final Report to the your Advisor. (S)he will grade it and pass it on to the Internship Coordinator.

 

The Work Samples Portfolio should include samples of all of the various work in which you participate. This may include creative work, such as print ads, scripts for radio or television commercials, copies of brochures, magazines, news releases or pieces of materials used in event marketing. Materials should be placed in a 3-ring spiral bound notebook or an in portfolio, professionally laid out. Think how you would present them for a job interview. If VHS or audiotapes are included, a hard copy script must be turned in as well. While originals of all work are preferred, copies are acceptable. The two of us together will decide on a final grade for this part of your internship, which is half of your grade.

 

Host Supervisor Evaluation: The evaluation sheet in the internship packet must be completed by the Host Supervisor within 5 days of the end of the internship. This sheet must be placed in a signed, sealed envelope and mailed or hand delivered to the Internship Coordinator, who will share it with the Internship Advisor. You are responsible for getting this sheet to the Supervisor and informing him or her when and how to submit it to the Coordinator. If the final report from the

MMC4945 - Page 3

 

supervisor is not received by the time grades are due; you will receive an 'Incomplete" ("I") until the Coordinator receives it. Your supervisor’s evaluation will be turned into a letter grade.

 

Incompletes:                       If you are not able to complete the full 300 hours of the internship by the end of the semester you may be eligible for an "lncomplete" (" I") grade with the approval of the lnternship Coordinator, Advisor and Host Supervisor. In such cases, you must submit the Final Internship Report and the Work Samples Portfolio within 5 days of the completion of the internship. You will also receive an "I" if your host supervisors evaluation is not received by the time grades are due.

 

Grading:  An internship is not an automatic "A." Your grade will be figured as follows:

                        Weekly reports                          15%

                        Meetings (2)                              10%

                        Evaluation by Host                                         25%

Final Essay and Work Samples             50%

 

                        TOTAL                          100%

 

Expression of Expectations for Performance: All University Policies regarding academic honesty will be strictly enforced. At their internships students are considered to be representatives of Florida International University, the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, and the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, and are expected to act accordingly and professionally.